Last Black Friday Feature: How Was Your Black Friday Spree?

You may know that I am Canadian so I didn't go for a huge shopping spree on Black Friday. However, I know you did so just for next year in case I decide on making a trip to the US for that day, how was your experience?
Was it fun? Was it tiring? How much did you buy? What was the best store you went into and which item that you bought was your favorite? Which mall did you go to? What will you remember about this day for a long time? Do you look at any stores or shopping in general differently now that this day has passed? How about some advice?
Please tell me everything!

Black Friday Feature: Shopping Time!

Come on! Get off the computer and shop! There's no time to waste because the deals aren't going to last for very long: Stock is going to run out and prices are going to gradually rise again.
Head over to your favorite mall and check out your favorite stores. Then, go to another mall and another. Follow the tips that I've posted and you'll make the most of this special occasion. Here they are in case you missed them:

Tips
Things Not to Do
Best Stores

One last thing you need to know: If you're having trouble with finding the perfect mall, try this comprehensive and easy-to-use U.S. Mall Directory. It basically allows you to search for any mall by either city, zip code or the name so you won't have to drive around town peeking into each shopping center.
Ok. If you're still reading this, you honestly need to hurry up and get out of your house. Really. Get out and shop!

Black Friday Featured Shopping Tips: Top 10 Best Black Friday Stores

10. Staples

With a number of HP printers 40% off and a 26" LCD HDTV at only $299 (online), Staples really has made its mark in the world of Black Friday shopping. And it isn't just pencils and erasers either.

9. Home Depot

The orange "Do-it-Yourself" guys at the Home Depot are offering some great deals today. Magic Chef 1000-Watt Countertop microwaves are starting from only $69.99 and assorted Christmas decorations start at only $9.99. Also, tons of tools feature huge markdowns such as a 52-Piece Dewalt Drill and Driver Set for just $9.97.

8. Toys R Us

America's largest toy store is giving you some pretty big discounts with DVDs at half price, World of Warcraft games at half price and Annabell dolls and accessories at 60% off. But hurry in because these deals won't last long.

7. Ikea

I'm not particularly fond of Ikea's furniture but this store is definitely offering some pretty big discounts. For instance, a "Malm Queen Bed Frame" is only $99.99 and the "Arstid Table Lamp" is priced at $19.99.

6. Sears

You'll be surprised at how low the prices go here. This is not usually an incredibly popular store but I imagine that today will be quite different. Sears is giving away $60 gift cards with purchases of 4 Michelin, Goodyear, Bridgestone or BFGoodrich Tires, 7-piece towel sets for only $3.19 as well as women's fleece and activewear at 60% off. In fact, you'll find almost the entire store at 50-60% off.

5. Aeropostale

Aeropostale, one of the premier teen clothing shops, is slashing prices by 50% on everything in the store with the exception of clearance items. That means all of your favorite hoodies, t-shirts and fragrances from this brand will be half price.

4. Best Buy

Get a Toshiba Satellite Laptop for a mere $379.99 ($270 off) or a Sony Cybershot 10.1 MP Digital Camera for only $299.99 ($100 off) at Best Buy. You can save hundreds of dollars on pretty much everything in the store so try to jam into a crowded Best Buy to get these huge savings.

3. Sports Authority

You can go to Dick's Sporting Goods and get average deals or you can go to the Sports Authority to get the real deals. Close to all the athletic equipment in the store is marked down by at least 25% such as the entire stock of youth Nike and Adidas apparel for 25% off as well as the an Everlast Heavybag Kit for only $49.99.

2. Amazon

This year, Amazon, has decided to offer Black Friday deals on pretty much all of their items including their form of the doorcrasher, which they call the Lightning Deal. You don't have to stand in long line-ups or tire yourself roaming through mall after mall; just head to Amazon and you've got all you need. They'll give you a Canon Powershot 10 MP digital camera for $159.94 ($70.05 off) and a Magellan 4.3-inch display GPS System for only $199.99 (67% off).

1. Every Other Store

Don't stop at what I just mentioned, go to any and every store you want to go to because each one will have its unique savings.

Black Friday Shopping Tips: Top 10 Things Not To Do When Shopping

10. Do not get grumpy.

It's not going to help you to let your emotions run high. The only things doing this will accomplish is discouraging you and bringing down others around you.

9. Do not look for good parking spot.

Face it. You're simply not going to find the few spots right beside the entrances. Don't waste your time and get to the shopping. Settle for any spot you can find; a little bit of walking can't hurt you.

8. Do not bring your kids.

First of all, the huge crowds are extremely dangerous; children can easily get lost or even get kidnapped. Moreover, the little ones have the stores that they want to go into and stay in forever, which becomes a huge hassle. Allow them to make a list of things they want and take that with you during your shopping spree.

7. Do not bring valuable things.

There will be an amazing number of people in the malls on Black Friday and there's bound to be at least a few crooks in each one. You don't want to get your most precious jewelery stolen or lost.

6. Do not wear high-heels.

Ladies, this will be a long day especially if you're one of the really enthusiastic breeds of shoppers. Where comfortable running shoes that you will not become quickly tired in and brace yourself for a ton of walking.

5. Do not become intrigued by items you know you can't buy.

Hey, here's a rule: Engage yourself in stuff you will buy but ignore the stuff that you won't. It's just a waste of time and energy occupying yourself in admiring an awesome $20,000 swimming pool when you live in a condo.

4. Do not get out of line in frustration.

Every store is inevitably going to have unbelievably long line-ups that you simply cannot avoid. If you really want something, trust me, it's a good idea to wait in line for a while because there is not other time where you can purchase it at such a low price.

3. Do not go to stores with less than 20% off.

Retailers have sales all the time but generally not of this magnitude. However, some companies are a bit cheap and are only offering say 10% off its stock. You can get 10% off any time you want! Look for the exceptional deals with say 50% discounts.

2. Do not use a credit card for everything.

You've been witnessing the second worst economic meltdown in the history of the United States and financialists are dubbing it the "credit crisis". As you probably have distiguished, the reason for this is the fact that people are constantly not spending cash but using credit, which often gets them into big trouble.

1. Do not not shop.

This is pretty self-explantory. If you don't shop you're losing out on the biggest sales of the year. You should be hungry for these with the recent inflation levels.

Black Friday Feature: Interesting Black Friday Search Trends

You may have realized that "black friday" is one of the most popular searches on the web around this time but here's what you may not know about Google's listings.

-The number of searches for this term increased by almost sixty times (over average) last year at the highest point
-Pretty much the only searchers of "black friday" come from the United States and Canada
-The number of searches for "black friday" at this time has steadily increased over the years
-The city that is the greatest provider of searches in Louisville, Kentucky
-Two of the top 10 "black friday" cities are in Florida
-Rochester (6th) is the only city in New York that is part of the top 10
-English as the language of a particular search dominates all other languages in searches of "black friday"
-Generally, the spike in search quantity occurs right before Black Friday itself
-There are around 22,400,000 search listings for the term "black friday"; that's about 1/6 of the number of results for "Barack Obama" but seven times the number of results for "boxing day"
-The first result for a search of "black friday" would lead you to BlackFriday.Info
-Six of the first ten results include multiple mentions of the word "Black Friday" in their titles

Black Friday Feature: The Top 10 Best Teen Clothing Shops

On Black Friday, every store is going to have amazing deals and some of the best items may actually become less expensive than the worst ones. Thus, I've simply compiled a list of the hottest and best-quality teen clothing brands.

10. Urban Outfitters

This store has a chic style, with a variety of items from graphic tees to jeans to footweare. Each of their items adds a modern twist to slightly formal pieces.

9. Hurley

Hurley is mainly a retailer of street clothing catering to the needs of the hardcore punk. Their real features are their skate and surf wear.

8. Ecko Unlimited

This is a brand a lot like Hurley mainly designed for street use but it really highlights their artists amazing work with fancier clothing.

7. West 49

Although only available in Canada, rumours say that they may soon be expanding to the U.S. West 49 is one of the fastest growing lines of clothing and is mostly for boarders.

6. American Eagle

American Eagle really has apparel for everyone and is quite a large chain. However, I really don't like this AE because it's design is just simply not-so-appealing.

5. Adidas

Adidas adds a European tone to all of its clothing and specializes in sportswear. Hence, it isn't as popular in North America as it is in other parts of the world but soccer players generally prefer this brand.

4. Aeropostale

Personally, this is my favorite because it has excellent quality, detailed and well considered designs as well as a variety of different styles. And it does everything without putting a gaping hole in your wallet.

3. Nike

Nike is a leading brand in athletic equipment and apparel and is one of the biggest clothing corporations in the world. Its recognizable Nike Swoosh has really become an icon around the world symbolizing fine clothing for any occasion.

2. Hollister

Based in California, this line has really established itself in the clothing market.
Hollister makes clothes that have an old-fashioned and often grungy theme. There's no denying that this is one of the best in the business of quality and will not disappoint in that department.

1. Abercrombie & Fitch

This store definitely has superior quality but not without a massive pricetag. So Black Friday would absolutely be a great time to be looking for this but you're still likely going to be paying more than $20 for a t-shirt, which you can get for 15 at Aeropostale any time. Also, it's items, for the most part, have very plain designs so it's beginning to fall in comparison to some other brands.

One more: Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy has made a name for itself with its polos and shirts, making it a choice for casualwear. Here is one of your choices for a first-date outfit.

Black Friday Feature: Why You Shouldn't Go Shopping at Walmart on Black Friday

Let's face it, Walmart has not only become a force in the economy but a building block of our everyday lives. Pretty much everybody goes to one of these huge department stores at least once in a while to purchase many things such as food, clothing and beauty supplies. The main reason so many consumers flee to such a store is obviously because of its low price guarantee. Americans, Canadians and for that matter Indonesians know that Walmart usually offers some pretty big discounts.
On the other hand, if you're considering visiting Walmart on Black Friday, it isn't such a great idea.
To begin with, as some people know, the actions of this corporation aren't exactly the most righteous and often, I find myself questioning shopping at all at such an immoral place.
Now, going back to the topic of Black Friday. First of all, this date is simply not the time to be making petty purchases of such things as candy and postcards; you should be thinking big. This is not to say Walmart does not have "big" things but its version of these products simply do not have the same quality as many other stores. Black Friday is a time where the price of everything drops dramatically and therefore, you can afford to buy that maple desk or gold wristwatch instead of the cheap stuff. Instead of going to Walmart for a hoodie or t-shirt, head over to Aeropostale, which is, by the way, offering 50% off pretty much everything in stock according to some sources.
In addition, I'll bet you can find better products at other specialty stores for even lower prices that what they are at Walmart. Sure, I'll admit that this retail chain has the best deals for the majority of the year. But for a few days, you should have no doubt in your mind that Best Buy is where you should go for electronics and Dick's Sporting Goods is where you should go for athletic equipment.
Last but not least, most people don't understand what I'm telling you right now so they're going to be running into Walmarts all across the country. This in turn means that the line-ups and crowds at your local "We Sell For Less Everyday" store will be enormous, humongous, gargantuan etc. Thus, it'll be unsafe if you're bringing children along and it'll also be a unnerving hassle just manoevering through isles.
With all this, on Black Friday, Walmart should not be on your list of shops to go to.

Black Friday Feature: An Introduction to Black Friday, Some Information

Black Friday is considered one of the busiest shopping days on the calendar in the United States, where many shops open very early and offer doorbuster deals to lure customers. As well, this day is often looked upon as the start of the Christmas shopping season and this year, is on November 28. In fact, each year, Black Friday falls on the day after Thanksgiving Day.
This day leaves shoppers in a huge frenzy with long line-ups at pretty much every store and enormous sales volume in every major retailer. Likely, this is why corporations brace themselves for the customers each year, preparing with massive price cuts of up to 80% is some places, huge amounts of decorations, advertisements employed in every place possible and extra staffing.
Website owners also are known to make individual websites just for the occasion, offering guides to the shopping day.
One interesting fact about this special day is the origin of its name: Black Friday is known to be a very chaotic, feverish and even stressful shopping day and is therefore a direct connection to "Black Tuesday", the notorious label of the stock market crash in 1929, which shared these aspects with Black Friday.

Come back for more Black Friday news, information and advice!